Process of purifying crude gas.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD LANE, 0F BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 INTERNATIONALE WAS- SERSTOFF AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, OF FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, GERMANY, A

CORPORATION OF GERMANY.

PROCESS OF PURIFYING CRUDE GAS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oat. 1,1912.

No Drawing. Original application filed J uly 16, 1910, Serial No. 572,410. Divided and this application filed December 9, 1911. Serial No. 664,786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD LANE, a sub ject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of 125 Edmund street, Binningham, in the county of Warwick, England, have invented a Process of Purifying Crude Gas, of which the following is a specification.

This application is a division of my application for a patent for the same invention filed July 16th, 1910, Serial No. 572410 patented May 7 1912, N 0. 1,025,918.

The invention relates to the purification of gases generally and more particularly to the purification of the crude gases (such as water gas, coaLgas and other gases generated from carbonaceous fuel) employed as reducing a ents in the process of producing hydrogen by the alternate oxidation and deoxidation of a metal. WVhen this process of manufacturing hydrogen is worked on a commercial scale it has been found that its efficiency tends to gradually decrease until the process becomes almost inoperative owing to the presence of sulfur and other impurities e. g. sulfurous acid, sulfureted pydrogen, carbon dioxid moisture and the ike. The object of the resent invention is to purify the crude re ucing gas more completely than heretofore.

The invention consists in first compressing the impure gas to a pressure of several atmospheres and then causing the gas, while still under ressure, to flow in contact with an oppositel y flowing stream of water.

I have discovered that a certain quantity of impurity is removed for every atmosphere of pressure of the gas, hence in order to obtain a high degree of purity, the gases must be highly compressed as the final degree of purity of the gas treated is directly proportional to the degree to which it is initially compressed. For example when water gas containing 5% of impurities (which is approximately the usual amount in gas obtained in the usual manner) is to be treated, it has been found that it is desirable to compress the gas .to a pressure between 70 and 100 pounds per square inch. Nevertheless to obtain a very high degree of purity indeed the gas may be compressed to a pressure of two tons to a square inch.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the washing operation, I sub-divide the oppositely flowing streams of gas and water by causing them to pass over pieces of natural material such as coke, wlth the result that all the chemical impurities contained in the gas either become condensed or dissolved in the water.

Claim- The herein described process of purifying crude gas which consists in first compressing the gas to a pressure of several atmospheres and then causing the gas so compressed to flow in contact and concurrently with an oppositely flowing stream of water through a mass of comminuted neutral material.

HOWVARD LANE.

Witnesses:

H. D. JAMESON, O. J. WORTH. 

